The starting pitcher Tazawa only lasted four innings and the box score was already 0-9. MDC and RR came in and relieved three more innings and the score was 2-9. Saito and Wagner were not available and Tito wanted to keep Papelbon, Bard, and Okajima fresh for tonight's game against the Blue Jays.
The ultimate solution? Nick Green.
Of course we went to Nike Green. He is the Swiss army knife of the Sox, versatile, reliable, and effective. He came up big in the first half at the shortstop position, when Julio Lugo and Jed Lowrie were on the DL. He also played 2B, 3B, and LF in the past a few weeks. Nick has such a great arm that you just know he'd be good even if he hadn't pitched in over 10 years since his junior college days.
And he was.
Nick might have even surprised himself with a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball and moderately filthy cutter. And he even managed to throw a slider. Nick shook off V-Mart for another slider though, 'cause he didn't want to hit anybody. Indeed, his fastball consistently sits at the high 80s to the low 90s, and might have more movement than Brad Penny's.
Nick threw 35 pitches but only 13 of those were strikes. He walked three batters. I had to laugh when I tried to imagine how those batters felt when facing a guy with such high velocity and such a poor control. Nevertheless, to my greatest joy, Nick neither had any wild pitch nor hit anybody. He could have even had a called strikeout, according to the Amica strike zone, if the umpire didn't mess up the call. And of course, Nick could field. He caught the ball shooting right back at him for the last out, with a lightning quick reaction that not many pitchers have.
The fans all got a kick out of Nick's performance. The Fenway faithful gave him a standing ovation when he retreated to the dugout. Not long after the game ended, "Nick Green" was already one of the top Twitter trend terms.
The only pity? The bats couldn't manage to give Nick a "W".
I recall when Nick first reported to the spring training, RSN wondered (loudly) who this Green guy was, who just spent his last season at Yankees triple A team. At that time, Nick had nothing to lose and everything to prove. And he has proven himself through and through. He's not just a fill-in. He always goes above and beyond the call of duty. Even in the toughest situation, he doesn't merely survive, he thrives.
Just like yesterday.
Just like when I thought I couldn't adore Nick anymore, he did something like this and his adorableness factor went through the roof.
Now I'd believe you if you told me Nick is able to call a perfect game while catching knuckleballs. Because, yeah, he is that good.